1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to chemical apparatus for the automatic analysis of biological fluids, and more particularly, to apparatus for processing analysis slides including a slide transfer mechanism for transferring slides between an incubator and a read station.
2. State of the Prior Art
In recent years, a number of automated systems have been developed for carrying out quantitative chemical analyses of sample fluids. In the aforementioned U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 855,124, there is described an incubator for use in a chemical analyzer, in which sample fluid is metered onto an analysis slide which is then transferred into an incubator. The incubator comprises a temperature-controlled chamber having a plurality of transfer locations wherein slides may be transferred into or out of the chamber; conveyor means rotatable in the chamber about a horizontal axis and having a plurality of slide-holding means for releasably holding the slides; and drive means for effecting movement of slides in the conveyor means within the chamber for positioning the slides for transfer at one of the transfer locations. Although slide transfer means are broadly mentioned in that application for moving the slides between the incubator and a read station of the analyzer, there is no suggestion of a slide transfer mechanism which can re-insert slides into the incubator to permit additional readings on the slide.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,064, to Binnings et al, discloses apparatus in which glass slides are fed from a single supply station onto a turntable. Slides carried on the turntable are moved past a metering station, and then through wash and incubation stations spaced around the periphery of the turntable. Slides processed by the apparatus are ejected from the turntable into a slide receiver adjacent the slide supply station. There is no provision for automatic analysis of the processed slides, and they must be manually removed from the slide receiver for examination under a laboratory microscope.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,904,914, to Trubert, discloses a lantern-slide carrier comprising a movable driver plate which is formed with a pair of flexible tongues. As the driver plate is manually reciprocated, one of the tongues moves a first slide from a magazine into a viewing position while the other tongue moves a second slide from the viewing position to a storage container. There is no suggestion that such a slide carrier could be used in clinical apparatus.